CHAPTER VII

Find a robin, Rudolph.Find a bluebird, Gregory, etc.

The child indicated finds the picture of the bird called for and places it on the blackboard ledge which serves as a picture gallery.

is a game similar to the above.

Frederick may be a pony.Louise may be a kitty, etc.

(Of the other children—one may be a boy; another, a bird; another, a horse; another, a fish; another, a girl, etc.)

Trot, pony.Run, dog.Skip, boy, etc.

They perform singly, and also in a body.

Material.—Trays or box-covers of sand, and a toy set of garden tools for each pupil.

Take the spade.Spade the earth.Take the hoe.Hoe the ground.Take the rake.Smooth the ground.Make holes (or rows).Plant corn (or sow the seed).Cover the seed.Water the garden.

For this game the children are all seated in chairs except one for whom no chair is provided. Each child seated takes the name of some animal on the farm,e.g., a dog, cat, horse, chicken, duck, or cow. The one standing is the farm-hand and says,e.g., "My master wants his dog." The dog must jump up and turn around. If he fails to do so, he steps to one side taking his chair with him. If when he is again called upon he answers correctly, he resumes his seat in the circle. Occasionally the farm-hand says, "My master wants all of his pets." When all rise and change seats quietly. The farm-hand tries to get a seat, leaving another child to be the farm-hand. In changing seats they change names as a single name belongs to each chair.

(II)Literature as a Basis for the Reading.The stories in the form indicated below are given afterthe children have become thoroughly familiar with them through oral presentation, after, too, the children have gained some facility in reading, through the use of the games, and the directions, etc., used in the general management of the school. Before the board work is presented the children dramatize the story which they are to read. They look to the board to find out what to say that they may impersonate the character in the story. Each mimics in tone and action the one whose part he takes. As no two mimic in the same way there is no lack of variety and interest. If the children are thoughtful they will know every time into whose mouth to put each sentence. They need to be alert, however. The names of the speakers, given in the margin, are for the benefit of the readers of this article. They are not put on the board. The children do not need them.

IThe old woman.I was sweeping my house.I found this dime.What shall I buy?I know; I will buy a pig.Where is my sunbonnet?Where is my cane?Here I go.Tramp! tramp! tramp!IIOld woman.Tap, tap, tap!The farmer.Come in.Good morning, old woman.Old woman.Good morning, sir.I want to buy a pig.Farmer.All right; I have some.Will you look at them?Here they are.Old woman.I like this one.I will take it.Good morning.Farmer.Good morning.IIIOld woman.Go on, pig.That fence is low,You can jump over.Pig.Grunt! grunt!Old woman.What shall I do?I must have help.I will go back.IVOld woman.Dog, dog, bite pig.Dog.No, no. (Shaking his head.)VOld woman.Stick, stick, whip dog.Stick.No, no. (Shaking head as before.)VI-XII.Similar to two above.XIIIOld woman.Cat, cat, kill rat.Cat.I will if you will give me some milk.Old woman.I will go to the cow.XIVOld woman.Cow, cow, give me some milk.Cow.I will if you will give me some hay.Old woman.All right.Tramp! tramp! tramp!Here is the hay, cow.Cow.Chew, chew, chew, chew.Now you may have some milk.Old woman.Thank you, cow.XVOld woman.Come, kitty, kitty, kitty.Here is some milk for you.Cat.Lap, lap, lap, lap.Old woman.Now catch the rat.Cat.Patter, patter, patter. (Given softly—it is the cat running after the rat.)

The old woman.I was sweeping my house.I found this dime.What shall I buy?I know; I will buy a pig.Where is my sunbonnet?Where is my cane?Here I go.Tramp! tramp! tramp!

Old woman.Tap, tap, tap!The farmer.Come in.Good morning, old woman.Old woman.Good morning, sir.I want to buy a pig.Farmer.All right; I have some.Will you look at them?Here they are.Old woman.I like this one.I will take it.Good morning.Farmer.Good morning.

III

Old woman.Go on, pig.That fence is low,You can jump over.Pig.Grunt! grunt!Old woman.What shall I do?I must have help.I will go back.

Old woman.Dog, dog, bite pig.Dog.No, no. (Shaking his head.)

Old woman.Stick, stick, whip dog.Stick.No, no. (Shaking head as before.)

VI-XII.Similar to two above.

XIII

Old woman.Cat, cat, kill rat.Cat.I will if you will give me some milk.Old woman.I will go to the cow.

XIV

Old woman.Cow, cow, give me some milk.Cow.I will if you will give me some hay.Old woman.All right.Tramp! tramp! tramp!Here is the hay, cow.Cow.Chew, chew, chew, chew.Now you may have some milk.Old woman.Thank you, cow.

Old woman.Come, kitty, kitty, kitty.Here is some milk for you.Cat.Lap, lap, lap, lap.Old woman.Now catch the rat.Cat.Patter, patter, patter. (Given softly—it is the cat running after the rat.)

IThe papa bear.That soup is hot.It must cool.We will take a walk.IISilver-Hair.Tap! tap! tap!No one at home.I will go in.What is that on the table?It is three bowls of soup.I am hungry.(Tasting of the soup in the big bowl.)That is too hot.(Tasting of soup in middle-sized bowl.)That is too cold.(Tasting of soup in little bowl.)That is just right.It is good.I will eat a little.IIII am tired.Here are three chairs.That is too high.That is too wide.This is just right.I will rest here.Oh, it broke!IVI am sleepy.I will go upstairs.Here are three beds.That is too hard.That is too soft.This is just right.I will sleep here.VPapa bear.SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TASTING MY SOUP.Mamma bear.Somebody has been tasting my soup.Baby bear.Somebody has been tasting my soup.It is all gone.VIPapa bear.SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR.Mamma bear.Somebody has been sitting in my chair.Baby bear.Somebody has been sitting in my chair.It is all broken.VIIPapa bear.SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING ON MY BED.Mamma bear.Somebody has been lying on my bed.Baby bear.Somebody has been lying on my bed.Why, here she is!Silver-Hair.Oh, my!I will jump.Now I will run.

The papa bear.That soup is hot.It must cool.We will take a walk.

Silver-Hair.Tap! tap! tap!No one at home.I will go in.What is that on the table?It is three bowls of soup.I am hungry.(Tasting of the soup in the big bowl.)That is too hot.(Tasting of soup in middle-sized bowl.)That is too cold.(Tasting of soup in little bowl.)That is just right.It is good.I will eat a little.

III

I am tired.Here are three chairs.That is too high.That is too wide.This is just right.I will rest here.Oh, it broke!

I am sleepy.I will go upstairs.Here are three beds.That is too hard.That is too soft.This is just right.I will sleep here.

Papa bear.SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TASTING MY SOUP.Mamma bear.Somebody has been tasting my soup.Baby bear.Somebody has been tasting my soup.It is all gone.

Papa bear.SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR.Mamma bear.Somebody has been sitting in my chair.Baby bear.Somebody has been sitting in my chair.It is all broken.

VII

Papa bear.SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING ON MY BED.Mamma bear.Somebody has been lying on my bed.Baby bear.Somebody has been lying on my bed.Why, here she is!Silver-Hair.Oh, my!I will jump.Now I will run.

II am a little fir tree.I want to be tall.I hate rabbits.They jump over me.III am three years old.The rabbit cannot jump over me now.It runs around me.I wish I were taller.I hate to be so little.IIINow I am six years old.Here come the woodchoppers.They will take me away.Here I go.Thump! thump! thump!IVWhat a fine house.How beautiful this moss is.What are these people going to give me?I am so happy!VHere are the children.How they like me!See them dance about me.Everybody looks at me.Do not take away my beautiful dress.Do not put out the lights.VIHere come the servants.They will give me my beautiful dress.Oh, oh, oh!Don't put me up there.It is dark.I want to be planted.VIII wish I were at home.I want to see the rabbit.It may jump over me.I will not care.I want to see the other trees.The rats come. I do not like rats.VIIIOut again!I like the air.Now I shall be planted.I am glad to see the flowers.I am glad to hear the birds.Now I shall live.IXThat boy called me ugly.He took my beautiful star.I wish I were in the woods.I shall never be happy again.Pop! pop! pop! pop!

I am a little fir tree.I want to be tall.I hate rabbits.They jump over me.

I am three years old.The rabbit cannot jump over me now.It runs around me.I wish I were taller.I hate to be so little.

III

Now I am six years old.Here come the woodchoppers.They will take me away.Here I go.Thump! thump! thump!

What a fine house.How beautiful this moss is.What are these people going to give me?I am so happy!

Here are the children.How they like me!See them dance about me.Everybody looks at me.Do not take away my beautiful dress.Do not put out the lights.

Here come the servants.They will give me my beautiful dress.Oh, oh, oh!Don't put me up there.It is dark.I want to be planted.

VII

I wish I were at home.I want to see the rabbit.It may jump over me.I will not care.I want to see the other trees.The rats come. I do not like rats.

VIII

Out again!I like the air.Now I shall be planted.I am glad to see the flowers.I am glad to hear the birds.Now I shall live.

That boy called me ugly.He took my beautiful star.I wish I were in the woods.I shall never be happy again.Pop! pop! pop! pop!

IThe donkey.I am very old.I am very weak.I can work no more.My master will not keep me.I will run away.I will go to the city.I can make music.I will join a band.Trot! trot! trot!IIWhat is that in the road?It is an old dog.What is the matter?Dog.I am very old.I am very weak.I cannot hunt.My master will not keep me.How can I live?Donkey.Come with me.You can play the bass drum.Join a band.Dog.Good! good! good!I will go.Dog and donkey.Trot! trot! trot!IIIDonkey.What is that in the road?It is an old cat.What is the matter, old whiskers?Cat.I am very old.I am very weak.I cannot catch mice.My mistress will not keep me.How can I live?Donkey.Come with us.You can sing.Join a band.Cat.Good! good! good!I will go.All three.Trot! trot! trot!IVDonkey.What is that on the gate?It is a rooster.What is the matter?Rooster.The cook will kill me.Donkey.Come with us.You can sing.Join a band.Rooster.Good! good! good!I will go.All four.Trot! trot! trot!

The donkey.I am very old.I am very weak.I can work no more.My master will not keep me.I will run away.I will go to the city.I can make music.I will join a band.Trot! trot! trot!

What is that in the road?It is an old dog.What is the matter?Dog.I am very old.I am very weak.I cannot hunt.My master will not keep me.How can I live?Donkey.Come with me.You can play the bass drum.Join a band.Dog.Good! good! good!I will go.Dog and donkey.Trot! trot! trot!

III

Donkey.What is that in the road?It is an old cat.What is the matter, old whiskers?Cat.I am very old.I am very weak.I cannot catch mice.My mistress will not keep me.How can I live?Donkey.Come with us.You can sing.Join a band.Cat.Good! good! good!I will go.All three.Trot! trot! trot!

Donkey.What is that on the gate?It is a rooster.What is the matter?Rooster.The cook will kill me.Donkey.Come with us.You can sing.Join a band.Rooster.Good! good! good!I will go.All four.Trot! trot! trot!

II am a little pine tree.I do not like to be a pine tree.My leaves are needles.Needles are not pretty.I wish I had gold leaves.IIIn the morning.Why do the trees look at me?What has happened?Gold leaves! Gold leaves!Just what I wanted!Good! good! good!IIITo the robber.Do not take my leaves.I want them.They are beautiful.Give them back.No leaves! No leaves!I wish I had glass leaves.IVIn the morning.Oh, how beautiful!Glass leaves! Glass leaves!No robber will take them.I can keep them.I am so happy!VCloud, do not come.Wind, do not blow.Keep still, keep still.A leaf is broken.Another! Another!All gone! All gone!No beautiful leaves.I wish I had bright green leaves.VIIn the morning.Oh, my pretty green leaves!No one will steal them.Nothing will break them.I shall not need to keep still.I will dance.Dance! dance! dance!VIIGoat, do not come here.These are my leaves.I want them.They are pretty.Oh, oh, oh!All my pretty leaves are gone.What shall I do?I wish I had my needles.VIIIOh, mother, mother, see!I have my old leaves.I like them.They are best of all.No one will steal them.Nothing will break them.Nothing will eat them.I can keep them.My dear old leaves!

I am a little pine tree.I do not like to be a pine tree.My leaves are needles.Needles are not pretty.I wish I had gold leaves.

In the morning.Why do the trees look at me?What has happened?Gold leaves! Gold leaves!Just what I wanted!Good! good! good!

III

To the robber.Do not take my leaves.I want them.They are beautiful.Give them back.No leaves! No leaves!I wish I had glass leaves.

In the morning.Oh, how beautiful!Glass leaves! Glass leaves!No robber will take them.I can keep them.I am so happy!

Cloud, do not come.Wind, do not blow.Keep still, keep still.A leaf is broken.Another! Another!All gone! All gone!No beautiful leaves.I wish I had bright green leaves.

In the morning.Oh, my pretty green leaves!No one will steal them.Nothing will break them.I shall not need to keep still.I will dance.Dance! dance! dance!

VII

Goat, do not come here.These are my leaves.I want them.They are pretty.Oh, oh, oh!All my pretty leaves are gone.What shall I do?I wish I had my needles.

VIII

Oh, mother, mother, see!I have my old leaves.I like them.They are best of all.No one will steal them.Nothing will break them.Nothing will eat them.I can keep them.My dear old leaves!

(III)Nature Study as a Basis for the Reading.The subjects in which the pupils are most interested are made the basis for the reading lessons.

Sometimes there is a guessing game like the following: The teacher, holding a flower in her closed hand, writes:—

Guess what I have.It is a flower.It is white.It has a yellow centre.

(The children answer—a daisy.) Or—

Guess what I have.It is a leaf.It is yellow.It is long.It is narrow.

(The children answer—the willow.)

After the pupils have made a careful study of a few birds or flowers, the reading lesson describes one of these, and the pupils are expected to name it from the description. If a child gives the wrong name, one of those who know better points out the line or lines barring out this object, and reads to the one making the mistake as proof of his error.

I live in the woods.I am not a bird.I am not a flower.I am not a tree.I run up trees.I eat nuts.I have a bushy tail.What is my name? (Squirrel.)I am a little bird.My back is brown.My breast is white.My bill is curved.I go up a tree trunk.I fly to another tree.I like insects.What is my name? (The brown creeper.)This is a big bird.It is blue.It has black bands on its tail and wings.It has a crest.Its bill is black.It scolds.What is its name? (The blue jay.)

The children sometimes play a game like the following: All but one personify red-headed woodpeckers. Theonequestions from the board. If a red-headed woodpecker fails to answer the question put to him, he takes the place of the interlocutor. It is an honor to be able to answer all the questions put:—

What color is your head?What color is your throat?What color is your breast?What colors on your wings?What color is your bill?What do you do?Where do you make your nest?

To a set of questions like the following, the children give the answers, after reading the questions silently:—

What bird did you first see this spring?What have you seen a robin do?What flower did you see first?What yellow flowers have you seen this spring?What white flowers?What blue flowers?What bird builds a nest in a tree trunk?What bird builds a nest on the ground?

I saw two robins on the ground.One was a mamma robin.The other was a baby robin.The baby robin was as big as its mother.Its breast was spotted.Its mother gave it an earthworm.At first it dropped it, but its mother picked it up and gave it to her baby again.This time it got a better hold. By several gulps it swallowed the worm.The mother looked proud of her baby. (This is the teacher's experience which she tells the children from the board. Sometimes she writes the observations which one of the children have made.)As no two teachers will have the same materialfor Nature Study, the reading material will not be multiplied here.Gradually, as the pupils can stand it, the sentences are lengthened a little as necessary, and massed into paragraphs.The use of the "Mother Goose Rhymes" as a means of enlivening the first year reading lessons is also treated as follows by Mrs. Lida McMurry. (Taken fromSchool and Home Educationfor October, 1902.)Many of the children on entering school are well versed in Nursery Rhymes. They enjoy repeating them. Other children may not know them so well, but soon learn them from their classmates. Teachers and pupils may have a happy time together with Mother Goose, and at the same time the pupils are learning to read without realizing that what they are doing is something that they are not accustomed to.I will suggest a few ways in which these rhymes may be made the basis for reading lessons:—Take this rhyme—1.Dance, Thumbkin, dance,Dance, ye merrymen, every one;For Thumbkin he can dance alone,Thumbkin he can dance alone.The second, third, fourth, and fifth stanzas are like the first, only Foreman, Longman, Ringman, and Littleman are in turn substituted for Thumbkin.The children first learn to act out each stanza asthey recite it together. The thumb is held up and moved about as if dancing, as the first line is given. All the fingers dance as the second line is recited. The thumb dances alone as the third and fourth lines are repeated.The teacher then repeats the stanza alone, and the children's fingers accompany her.Later, when the children have learned to act out the story well, as the teacher repeats it, the teacher writes the first line at the board, and, pointing to it, asks the children to do what the board directs. They cannot tell what it is, so the teacher says, "The board is talking toThumbkin," writing the name on the board as she says it. "What do you think it wants Thumbkin to do?" pointing toDancein the line on the board. The next line is written on the board. The children quite likely will guess rightly what it says, because of its setting. If not, the teacher will help them as at first. In the same way they connect the third and fourth lines with the oral expression of the same, and act them out accordingly. That the children respond readily to the directions as written is no proof, at first, that they know even most of the words in the lines. The teacher's test is a part of the play. To-day, instead of writing the first line, she writes the second. Many get caught. They will be more alert another time. As they can never tell which line will appear first, they learn to discriminate by giving closer attention to the form of the words.Sometimes the teacher writes the six names—Thumbkin, Foreman, etc., and Merrymen, on the board. She points to the name or names of the one, or ones, that should dance. The children do not like to make mistakes in responding with the fingers.Sometimes the teacher points to a name on the board, as Foreman, and writes "dance alone," or "dance every one." The alert children see that the latter does not apply.The words are not drilled upon. The game, with variations sometimes, is played quite frequently, but never so long at a time that the children weary of it. Three or four plays or games are given at a single recitation. The interests of the children are studied, and rhymes which they do not enjoy as reading material are dropped, and others substituted. The rhymes should often be repeated, just as they occur in "Mother Goose," that the children may not forget them.2.Eye winker.Tom tinker.Mouth eater.Chin chopper.Chin chopper.The children point to the parts of the face as they are named. They first learn to give the rhyme with its accompanying motion orally, then they respond to it as written on the board (Tom tinker is the othereye). When they do this readily the directions are written out of their order. This tests the children's ability to distinguish one form from another. No child likes to give the wrong motion in response to a direction,e.g., point to his mouth when Eye winker is called for.3.The children, we will suppose, know a number of rhymes, as,e.g.,A diller, a dollar, a ten o'clock scholar.A little boy went into a barn.Baa, baa, black sheep.Rain, rain, go away, etc.The teacher writes the first line of one of these rhymes on the board and asks a child to give the rhyme. He cannot at first. Later he will learn to recognize it; so with all the rhymes he knows. When he can give any rhyme called for in response to the first line as written at the board, another line (not the first) is written, and the child asked to give the rhyme of which it is a part.4.Is John Smith within?Yes, that he is.Can he set a shoe?Ay, marry, two.Here a nail and there a nail,Tick, tack, too.After the children have learned the above rhyme, acting it out, by imitating the voices of the twospeakers, and by driving the nails, the two questions are asked at the board, and the children respond orally. Sometimes the second question, slightly altered, is asked first,e.g., "Can John Smith set a shoe?" Sometimes "Who is within?" appears on the board.5.Old Mother Hubbard.There are many stanzas to this poem, a few of which the teacher will wish to omit, as those referring to the visits to the ale-house and the tavern. The pupils become perfectly familiar with the jingle, so they can with ease give it orally, then the teacher writes the first line of a stanza at the board and pointing to it asks a pupil to give the remainder of the stanza. The mistake is ludicrous if the wrong lines follow the first, and the pupils wish to avoid such a mistake.6.There were two birds sat on a stone,Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.One flew away and then there was one,Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.The other flew after and then there was none,Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.And so the poor stone was left all alone,Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.The children act out this rhyme at first as they say it, later, silently, as they see what is called for at the board.Any number may be substituted fortwoin the first line, but when they come to the third line the number substituted for one should be such that only one will remain,e.g., There wereeightbirds sat on a stone,Sevenflew away, etc. The children are sometimes caught by the wrong number being told to fly. The children should not fly until they are sure that it is all right.7.What are your eyes for?What are your ears for?What is your nose for?What is your tongue for?What is your mouth for?What is your hand for?What are your fingers for?What are your teeth for?What is your brain for?What is your heart for?These questions are read silently by the children, then answered orally in complete sentences, one child only answering at one time. The answers are so absurd when wrong that each child is careful to know what is asked.These are only a few of the ways in which "Mother Goose" may be used as reading material. Each teacher will think out for herself ways in which these rhymes may be profitably and happily employed.Mrs. Lida McMurry.

I saw two robins on the ground.

One was a mamma robin.

The other was a baby robin.

The baby robin was as big as its mother.

Its breast was spotted.

Its mother gave it an earthworm.

At first it dropped it, but its mother picked it up and gave it to her baby again.

This time it got a better hold. By several gulps it swallowed the worm.

The mother looked proud of her baby. (This is the teacher's experience which she tells the children from the board. Sometimes she writes the observations which one of the children have made.)

As no two teachers will have the same materialfor Nature Study, the reading material will not be multiplied here.

Gradually, as the pupils can stand it, the sentences are lengthened a little as necessary, and massed into paragraphs.

The use of the "Mother Goose Rhymes" as a means of enlivening the first year reading lessons is also treated as follows by Mrs. Lida McMurry. (Taken fromSchool and Home Educationfor October, 1902.)

Many of the children on entering school are well versed in Nursery Rhymes. They enjoy repeating them. Other children may not know them so well, but soon learn them from their classmates. Teachers and pupils may have a happy time together with Mother Goose, and at the same time the pupils are learning to read without realizing that what they are doing is something that they are not accustomed to.

I will suggest a few ways in which these rhymes may be made the basis for reading lessons:—

Take this rhyme—

1.Dance, Thumbkin, dance,Dance, ye merrymen, every one;For Thumbkin he can dance alone,Thumbkin he can dance alone.

The second, third, fourth, and fifth stanzas are like the first, only Foreman, Longman, Ringman, and Littleman are in turn substituted for Thumbkin.

The children first learn to act out each stanza asthey recite it together. The thumb is held up and moved about as if dancing, as the first line is given. All the fingers dance as the second line is recited. The thumb dances alone as the third and fourth lines are repeated.

The teacher then repeats the stanza alone, and the children's fingers accompany her.

Later, when the children have learned to act out the story well, as the teacher repeats it, the teacher writes the first line at the board, and, pointing to it, asks the children to do what the board directs. They cannot tell what it is, so the teacher says, "The board is talking toThumbkin," writing the name on the board as she says it. "What do you think it wants Thumbkin to do?" pointing toDancein the line on the board. The next line is written on the board. The children quite likely will guess rightly what it says, because of its setting. If not, the teacher will help them as at first. In the same way they connect the third and fourth lines with the oral expression of the same, and act them out accordingly. That the children respond readily to the directions as written is no proof, at first, that they know even most of the words in the lines. The teacher's test is a part of the play. To-day, instead of writing the first line, she writes the second. Many get caught. They will be more alert another time. As they can never tell which line will appear first, they learn to discriminate by giving closer attention to the form of the words.

Sometimes the teacher writes the six names—Thumbkin, Foreman, etc., and Merrymen, on the board. She points to the name or names of the one, or ones, that should dance. The children do not like to make mistakes in responding with the fingers.

Sometimes the teacher points to a name on the board, as Foreman, and writes "dance alone," or "dance every one." The alert children see that the latter does not apply.

The words are not drilled upon. The game, with variations sometimes, is played quite frequently, but never so long at a time that the children weary of it. Three or four plays or games are given at a single recitation. The interests of the children are studied, and rhymes which they do not enjoy as reading material are dropped, and others substituted. The rhymes should often be repeated, just as they occur in "Mother Goose," that the children may not forget them.

2.Eye winker.Tom tinker.Mouth eater.Chin chopper.Chin chopper.

The children point to the parts of the face as they are named. They first learn to give the rhyme with its accompanying motion orally, then they respond to it as written on the board (Tom tinker is the othereye). When they do this readily the directions are written out of their order. This tests the children's ability to distinguish one form from another. No child likes to give the wrong motion in response to a direction,e.g., point to his mouth when Eye winker is called for.

3.The children, we will suppose, know a number of rhymes, as,e.g.,

A diller, a dollar, a ten o'clock scholar.A little boy went into a barn.Baa, baa, black sheep.Rain, rain, go away, etc.

The teacher writes the first line of one of these rhymes on the board and asks a child to give the rhyme. He cannot at first. Later he will learn to recognize it; so with all the rhymes he knows. When he can give any rhyme called for in response to the first line as written at the board, another line (not the first) is written, and the child asked to give the rhyme of which it is a part.

4.Is John Smith within?Yes, that he is.Can he set a shoe?Ay, marry, two.Here a nail and there a nail,Tick, tack, too.

After the children have learned the above rhyme, acting it out, by imitating the voices of the twospeakers, and by driving the nails, the two questions are asked at the board, and the children respond orally. Sometimes the second question, slightly altered, is asked first,e.g., "Can John Smith set a shoe?" Sometimes "Who is within?" appears on the board.

5.Old Mother Hubbard.

There are many stanzas to this poem, a few of which the teacher will wish to omit, as those referring to the visits to the ale-house and the tavern. The pupils become perfectly familiar with the jingle, so they can with ease give it orally, then the teacher writes the first line of a stanza at the board and pointing to it asks a pupil to give the remainder of the stanza. The mistake is ludicrous if the wrong lines follow the first, and the pupils wish to avoid such a mistake.

6.There were two birds sat on a stone,Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.One flew away and then there was one,Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.The other flew after and then there was none,Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.And so the poor stone was left all alone,Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.

The children act out this rhyme at first as they say it, later, silently, as they see what is called for at the board.

Any number may be substituted fortwoin the first line, but when they come to the third line the number substituted for one should be such that only one will remain,e.g., There wereeightbirds sat on a stone,Sevenflew away, etc. The children are sometimes caught by the wrong number being told to fly. The children should not fly until they are sure that it is all right.

7.What are your eyes for?What are your ears for?What is your nose for?What is your tongue for?What is your mouth for?What is your hand for?What are your fingers for?What are your teeth for?What is your brain for?What is your heart for?

These questions are read silently by the children, then answered orally in complete sentences, one child only answering at one time. The answers are so absurd when wrong that each child is careful to know what is asked.

These are only a few of the ways in which "Mother Goose" may be used as reading material. Each teacher will think out for herself ways in which these rhymes may be profitably and happily employed.

Mrs. Lida McMurry.

The problem of primary reading is one of the most complex and difficult in the whole range of school instruction. A large proportion of the finest skill and sympathy of teachers has been expended in efforts to find the appropriate and natural method of teaching children to read. All sorts of methods and devices have been employed, from the most formal and mechanical to the most spirited and realistic.

The first requisite to good reading is something worth reading, something valuable and interesting to the children, and adapted to their minds. We must take it for granted in this discussion that the best literature and the best stories have been selected, and what the teacher has to do is, first, to appreciate these masterpieces for herself, and second, to bring the children in the reading lessons to appreciate and enjoy them. In the primary grades we are not so richly supplied with available materials from good literature as in intermediate and grammar grades. This is due not to difficulty in thought, but to the unfamiliar written and printed forms. The great problem in primary reading is to master these strange forms as quickly as possible, and find entrance to thestory-land of books. For several years, however, primary teachers have been selecting and adapting the best stories, and some of the leading publishers have brought out in choice school-book form books which are well adapted to the reading of primary grades.

We should like to assume one other advantage. If the children have been treated orally to "Robinson Crusoe" in the second grade, they will appreciate and read the story much better in the third grade. If some of Grimm's stories are told in first grade, they can be read with ease in the second grade. The teacher's oral presentation of the stories is the right way to bring them close to the life and interest of children. In the first grade, as shown in the chapter on oral lessons, it is the only way, because the children cannot yet read. But even if they could read, the oral treatment is much better. The oral presentation is more lively, natural, and realistic. The teacher can adapt the story and the language to the immediate needs of the class as no author can. She can question, or suggest lines of thought, or call up ideas from the children's experience. The oral manner is the true way to let the children delve into the rich culture-content of stories and to awaken a taste for their beauty and truth. We could well wish that before children read mythical stories in fourth grade, they had been stirred up to enjoy them by oral narration and discussion in the preceding year. In thesame way, if the reading bears on interesting science topics previously studied, it will be a distinct advantage to the reading lesson. Children like to read about things that have previously excited their interest, whether in story or science. The difficulties of formal reading will also be partly overcome by familiarity with the harder names and words. Our conclusion is that reading lessons, alone, cannot provide all the conditions favorable to good reading. Some of these can be well supplied by other studies or by preliminary lessons which pave the way for the reading proper. This matter has been so fully discussed in the earlier chapters on oral work that it requires no further treatment here.

Let it be supposed that a class of first-grade children has learned to tell a certain story orally. It has interested them and stirred up their thought.

Let them next learn to read the same story in a very simple form. This will lead to a series of elementary reading lessons in connection with the story, and the aim should be strictly that of mastering the early difficulties of reading. The teacher recalls the story, and asks for a statement from its beginning. If the sentence furnished by the child is simple and suitable, the teacher writes it on the blackboard in plain large script. Each child reads itthrough and points out the words. Let there be a lively drill upon the sentence till the picture of each word becomes clear and distinct. During the first lesson, two or three short sentences can be handled with success. As new words are learned, they should be mixed up on the board with those learned before, and a quick and varied drill on the words in sentences or in columns be employed to establish the forms in memory.[8]Speed, variety in device, and watchfulness to keep all busy and attentive are necessary to secure good results.

After a few lessons one or two of the simpler words may be taken for phonetic analysis. The simple sounds are associated with the letters that represent them. These familiar letters are later met and identified in new words, and, as soon as a number of sounds with their symbols have been learned, new words can be constructed and pronounced from these known elements.

The self-activity of the children in recognizing the elementary sounds, already met, in new words as fast as they come up, is one of the chief merits of this early study of words. They thus early learn the power of self-help and of confident reliance upon themselves in acquiring and using knowledge. The chief difficulty is in telling which sound to use, as a letter often has several sounds (asa,e,s,c, etc.). Butthe children are capable of testing the known sounds of a letter upon a new word, and in most cases, of deciding which to use. The thoughtless habit of pronouncing every new word for a child, without effort on his part, checks and spoils his interest and self-activity. It does not seem necessary to use an extensive system of diacritical markings to guide him in these efforts to discriminate sounds. It is better to use the marks as little as possible and learn to interpret words as they usually appear in print. Experience has shown decisively that a lively and vigorous self-activity is manifested by such early efforts in learning to read. It is one of the most encouraging signs in education to see little children in their first efforts to master the formal art of reading, showing this spirited self-reliant energy.

In the same way, they recognize old words in sentences and new or changed combinations of old forms, and begin to read new sentences which combine old words in new relations.

In short, the sentence, word, and phonic methods are all used in fitting alternation, while originality and variety of device are necessary in the best exercise of teaching power.

The processes of learning to read by such board-script work are partly analytic and partly synthetic. Children begin with sentences, analyze them into words, and some of the words into their simple sounds. But when these sounds begin to growfamiliar, they are identified again in other words, thus combining them into new forms. In the same way, words once learned by the analytic study of sentences are recognized again in new sentences, and thus interpreted in new relations.

The short sentences, derived from a familiar story, when ranged together supply a brief, simple outline of the story. If now this series of sentences be written on the board or printed on slips of paper, the whole story may be reviewed by the class from day to day till the word and sentence forms are well mastered. For making these printed slips, some teachers use a small printing-press, or a typewriter. Eventually several stories may be collected and sewed together, so as to form a little reading-book which is the result of the constructive work of teacher and pupils.

The reading lessons just described are entirely separate from the oral treatment and reproduction of the stories; yet the thought and interest awakened in the oral work are helpful in keeping up a lively effort in the reading class. The thought material in a good story is itself a mental stimulus, and produces a wakefulness which is favorable to imprinting the forms as well as the content of thought. Expression, also, that is, natural and vivid rendering of the thought, is always aimed at in reading, and springs spontaneously from interesting thought studies.

Many teachers use the materials furnished by orallessons in natural science as a similar introduction to reading in first grade. The science lessons furnish good thought matter for simple sentences, and there is good reason why, in learning to read, children should use sentences drawn both from literature and from natural science.

The oral lessons in good stories, and the later board-use of these materials in learning the elements of formal reading, are an excellent preparation for the fuller and more extended reading of similar matter in the second and third grades.

When the oral work of the first grade has thus kindled the fancy of a child upon these charming pictures, and the later board-work has acquainted him with letter and word symbols which express such thought, the reading of the same and other stories of like character (a year later) will follow as an easy and natural sequence. As a preliminary to all good reading exercises, there should be rich and fruitful thought adapted to the age of children. The realm of classic folk-lore contains abundant thought material peculiar in its fitness to awaken the interest and fancy of children in the first two grades. To bring these choice stories close to the hearts of children should be the aim of much of the work in both these grades. Such an aim, skilfully carried out, not only conduces to the joy of children in first grade, butinfuses the reading lessons of second grade with thought and culture of the best quality.

Interest and vigor of thought are certain to help right expression and reading. Reading, like every other study, should be based upon realities. When there is real thought and feeling in the children, a correct expression of them is more easily secured than by formal demands or by intimidation.

The stories to be read in second or third grade may be fuller and longer than the brief outline sentences used for board-work in the first grade. Besides, these tales, being classic and of permanent value, do not lose their charm by repetition.

By oral reading, we mean the giving of the thought obtained from a printed page to others through the medium of the voice.

There is first the training of the eye in taking in a number of words at a glance—a mechanical process; then the interpretation of these groups of words—a mental process; next the making known of the ideas thus obtained to others, by means of the voice—also a mechanical process.

The children need special help in each step. We are apt to overdo one at the expense of the others.

1. Eye-training is the foundation of all good reading. Various devices are resorted to in obtaining it. We will suggest a few, not new at all, but useful.

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